A key target of Russia’s enhanced bombing offensive has been Ukraine’s steel industry. The brief campaign has apparently wiped out at least 90% of the steel output, that being produced at, in particular, two plants in the Zaporozhye Region—the Zaporozhstal and the Kamet steel plants—and one in Krivoy Rog, the ArcelorMittal plant. The first two are owned by Metinvest, that is, by Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhetov.

Aleksandr Vodoviz, the head of Metinvest’s CEO office, told the Financial Times: “As of today, [Ukraine] doesn’t have a steel industry any more.” He said the blast furnaces had been targeted over the past month. He added: “[The russians] knew everything about the plant; they knew exactly where to hit.”